Nebraska Cornhuskers at Duke Blue Devils

Tricia Liston leads Duke past Nebraska into Elite Eight

The senior point guard, part of the only two teams in Cornhuskers' history to reach the round of 16, missed 13 of her 18 field goal attempts as Nebraska lost to Duke 53-45 in the Norfolk Regional on Sunday.

Duke will play top-seeded Notre Dame on Tuesday.

Moore also made the round of 16 as a freshman, but was at a loss to explain the shooting woes.

"It wasn't like I was doing anything different," she said. "They just weren't falling."

She wasn't alone as scoring leader Jordan Hooper missed all eight of her shots in the first half and finished 3 for 14 before leaving with an ankle injury. No. 3 scorer Emily Cady was 2 for 7.

When Hooper was helped off the court, the Cornhuskers trailed 40-32.

"You've still got to have other players do some things," Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. "I mean, we were still in the ballgame. We still had a chance."

Nebraska closed within 44-28 on Moore's jumper in the lane with 3:53 left, but Duke quickly countered with seven of the next nine points and held on to advance.

Yori couldn't fault her defense at all.

"I would have taken 53," she said of Duke's point total. "I mean, giving up 53 against Duke when they average 75? We did a lot of things right."

Tricia Liston scored 17 points and Alexis Jones added 14 for the Blue Devils (33-2).

The Cornhuskers (25-9) got 11 points from Moore, but shot 30.3 percent and hit just 3 of 24 3-point tries. Nebraska came in averaging 6.4 3s and made eight last week in stunning Texas A&M on its home floor.

Trailing 23-18 at halftime, Hooper hit a foul-line jumper 30 seconds into the second half, sparking an 8-4 run that got the Cornhuskers within 27-26, but Duke responded with a 13-4 run.

Liston started it with a 3-pointer, and Haley Peters and Richa Jackson each scored four in the run.

Moore's basket got the Cornhuskers within 44-38 with 3:53 to play, but Jones and Peters converted Nebraska turnovers with inside baskets.

After Katie Simon scored for Nebraska, two free throws each by Liston and Jones extended the lead to 51-40 with 1:04 left and it was all but over.

Duke's Elizabeth Williams, a native of Virginia Beach, finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks, but missed 10 of her 15 shots. Duke finished with 32.8 percent shooting (21 of 64).

Duke, which trailed Oklahoma State by 13 on its home floor last weekend before rallying to win by nine, made just four of its first 20 shots and trailed Nebraska 18-11 before turning it around. The Blue Devils outscored the Cornhuskers 12-0 the last 5:46 of the half, with Jones scoring seven.

-----

Follow Hank Kurz Jr. on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/hankkurzjr

How can I watch Cornhuskers vs. Blue Devils?

• TV Channel: Cornhuskers vs Blue Devils 2021 College Basketball, week 2, is broadcasted on ESPN2.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.